Bethanne Patrick

‘We’re losing accessibility’: America says goodbye to the mass-market paperback The so-called ‘pocket book’ sold in supermarkets is being phased out across the US, the latest sign of an ongoing shift in how people are choosing to read

Yours truly quoted herein:

www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...

Finally filed my Anthropic claim and now completely convinced I've done it wrong.

Impostor Syndrome got me allllll the way.

Yes, yes we are. Thank you for your kind words. It's not that writing doesn't matter or that art of all kinds doesn't matter -- it does, they do -- it's that each of us needs to confront our received ideas and inner blocks and wrestle them to the ground.

TYSM. Thank you.

A particularly brutal truth about my relationship to writing today in my morning pages.

Brutal, but not insurmountable.

And so we write on. . .

And yes of course it's Tuesday

GAH

In my defense, I slept away most of yesterday after a horrible drive home pre-blizzard.

Sad to be in lower slower snow-ier Delaware and miss the P&P date

Let's all head into Monday like Johannes Klaebo hits the last hill, every time. #klaeboinspo

Might make #ShroveTuesday pancakes for dinner. #lapsedwhiskypalian

Look, I'm an old cishet long-married white lady. My problems are not urgent. But if I get that kind of thing thrown at me in the course of a day's work, I know that others have it much, much worse.

Last week someone -- WHO WAS PITCHING ME -- told me I am "a cog, an important cog" in the literary world.

It might be time for me to apply to law school.

Essay: The other Kate Bush banger that deserves a comeback right now With a new 'Wuthering Heights' film in theaters, it’s time to revisit the Kate Bush classic that out-sparked SparkNotes — and the other legendary songs inspired by literature.

I may not see the "Wuthering Heights" movie, but I'll always share the earworm. . .

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Criticism, yes, should be part of the cultural conversation.

Perhaps that's the real loss, here -- not book reviews/coverage themselves, but people's ability to understand that books aren't simply products to be sold. They're tools to help us unlock ideas, arguments, fantasies, and deep meaning.

Review: Two new novels ask why a woman with a secret is always a threat to Western civilization From 13th-century anchorites to the French Resistance, authors Janet Rich Edwards and Paula McLain trace the enduring power of two fascinating female characters.

Over @latimes.com I have a new dual review up, of CANTICLE by Janet Rich Edwards and SKYLARK by Paula McLain. Behind a paywall, alas. . . will see what I can do about finding a gift link!

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Book publicists signing up for Substack like it's Rose's raft from "Titanic."

Given the media news, I’ve decided it is time to start my own book-review publication. With the budget I currently have that will mean it’s handwritten and reproduced on vintage carbon paper, distributed via the local seagulls.

The guy who owns Amazon shutting down the books section of the Washington Post is beyond parody

Do one of the things that makes you feel better, because if you aren't doing any of that, you will run down. Today I did some writing. I'm a writer, & if I don't write, I run down. It's very easy for me to forget this, despite decades of knowing it. And so I am here to remind you to do your things.

LOVE the graphic, sir!

NB that I included the Meacham because it's a collection of primary sources. . . reading those can be useful.

Just right :)

Decided to take some longheld beliefs out and try them on. They all still fit -- more important than high-school jeans doing the same.

1. Love is love is love is love is love.
2. Her body, her choice.
3. Black Lives Matter.
4. Poverty is not a character flaw.
5. Separation of church and state.

#Book Recommendation: LOST LAMBS by Madeline Cash is all that and a bag of your favorite chips. Hilarious, painful, like Katherine Heiny crossed with Grant Ginder crossed with Andrew Sean Greer crossed with Laurie Frankel.

I regret that I did not pick it up pre-pub!

I just downloaded four dozen titles from Netgalley because same.

I'm so tired. The news this week has been awful.

If I'm so tired, I know many others out there are even more tired.

Let us all remember that self-care is a radical act. Please rest when you can.

Yes, that's my source!

Word of the Day: "Verführer," meaning seducer, or misleader

À propos of nothing. . .

:(

10 books to read in January, new page-turners from Saunders, Guo, Tallent and more Kick off 2026 with 10 must-read books, including a bold "Moby Dick" retelling by Xiaolu Guo, Daniyal Mueenuddin’s stunning Pakistani epic and Jennifer Breheny Wallace’s guide to finding purpose.

Love to see The Legend of Wyatt Outlaw by Sylvester Allen Jr. and @belleboggs.bsky.social on @thebookmaven.bsky.social’s list of 10 books to read in January for @latimes.com www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

Srsly. Think of the GOOD she could have done. But nooooo. . .